The Western Field Ornithologists San Diego pelagic trip on Thursday, October 10, out of Mission Bay aboard “Legacy,” was held under very nice sea conditions. Bird numbers overall improved somewhat from recent trips. The rarest species on the trip was two separate Manx Shearwaters (3 miles off Mission Bay & 6 miles off Ocean Beach), which unfortunately were seen/photo’d by only about five of the people on board! Other highlights included at least 16 Craveri’s Murrelets, a juvenile Long-tailed Jaeger at the 30-Mile Bank, single Arctic Terns at “The Corner” and the San Diego Trough, and six Sabine’s Gulls. Surprising well offshore were the Forster’s Tern and three Western Grebes at The Corner, some 33-1/2 miles offshore, and a Snowy Egret flying by 11.4 miles off Point Loma.
Totals for the day once we got about a mile offshore were as follows:
- Surf Scoter: 15
- Western Grebe: 6
- hummingbird sp.: 1
- dowitcher sp.: 20
- yellowlegs sp. 3
- Red-necked Phalarope: 25
- Pomarine Jaeger: 20
- Parasitic Jaeger: 3
- Long-tailed Jaeger: 1
- jaeger sp.: 10
- Craveri’s Murrrelet: 16
- murrelet sp.: 17
- Cassin’s Auklet: 9
- Sabine’s Gull: 6
- Heermann’s Gull: 14
- Western Gull: 300
- California Gull: 4
- Common Tern: 39
- Arctic Tern: 2
- Forster’s Tern: 2
- Elegant Tern: 65
- Common Loon: 1
- Sooty Shearwater: 9
- Pink-footed Shearwater: 116
- MANX SHEARWATER: 2
- Black-vented Shearwater: 750
- Snowy Egret: 1
- Brandt’s Cormorant: 12
- Brown Pelican: 160
- Also: Black Oystercatcher, Surfbirds, Mola-Mola, Elephant Seal, Humpback & Minke Whales
Paul Lehman, Dave Povey, Bruce Rideout, Tom Blackman, Dan Jehl, Nathan Pieplow, San Diego